A recent innovation within the field of integrated circuit technology is the resistive random access memory (RRAM). While much of RRAM technology is in the development stage, various technological concepts for RRAM have been demonstrated and are in one or more stages of verification to prove or disprove associated theory(ies). Even so, RRAM technology promises to hold substantial advantages for future growth in the semiconductor electronics industry.
According to various theoretical models, the RRAM can be configured to have multiple resistive states; for instance, the RRAM can be configured to have a relatively low resistance or a relatively high resistance. Moreover, the RRAM can generally be configured to enter one or another resistive state in response to an external condition imposed upon the RRAM. Thus, in transistor parlance, applying or removing the external condition can serve to program or de-program the RRAM. Moreover, depending on physical makeup and electrical arrangement, an RRAM can generally maintain a programmed or de-programmed state. Maintaining a state might require other conditions be met (e.g., existence of a minimum operating voltage, existence of a minimum operating temperature, . . . ), or no conditions be met, depending on a makeup of the RRAM. Generally speaking, the capacity to be in one of two states and maintain one or another of the states can serve to represent one binary bit of information. Thus, RRAM is theoretically usable as electronic memory in suitably arranged electronic circuits.
Several proposals for practical utilization of RRAM technology include various transistor-based memory applications. For instance, RRAM elements are often theorized as viable alternatives, at least in part, to metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) type memory transistors commonly employed for electronic storage of digital information. Models of RRAM-based memory devices provide some potential advantages over non-volatile FLASH MOS type transistors, including smaller die size, higher memory density, fast switching (e.g., from a relatively conductive state to a relatively non-conductive state, or vice versa), good data reliability, low manufacturing cost, and others. Because of these potential benefits, and because demand for faster and smaller electronic devices appears to continue unabated, much interest in RRAM technology and RRAM development exists.